Director
John Boorman
Leading Actors/Actresses
Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox
Genre
Drama, Thriller, Adventure
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing
Date of Release
1972
Producer
John Boorman
Setting and Context
Remote Woods in Northern Georgia
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Lewis and Ed
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic, Suspenseful
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonists are Lewis, Ed, Bobby and Drew. Antagonists are the Hillbilly men in the deep backwoods.
Major Conflict
Bobby and Ed are taken hostage by two backwoods hillbillies who rape Bobby. Lewis kills one of the men and they have to bury him.
Climax
Ed kills the other hillbilly after Drew dies in the rapids. The other three men make it out alive and lie to the Sheriff about what happened in order to stay out of prison and go home.
Foreshadowing
Ed says that whatever happens in Atlanta, no one will be able to find them out there in the backwoods. This foreshadows the danger that lies ahead and the isolation that they are also fighting.
Understatement
The fear that each man has about being in the wilderness is understated.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
n/a
Allusions
Backwoods of Georgia is an allusion to a lawless land that is cut out of a time long gone that still exists in modern society.
Paradox
The guys go out on the river for a man's trip, but paradoxically three of the four don't really want to be there. They are city men.
Parallelism
Ed's lonely walk back into town parallels the guys' drive into the woods. Both are on paved roads in the wilderness but Ed's walk is silent and lonely whereas the drive in all of the guys are talking and busting each other up.
